STEVE HANSEN has picked a pack to take the physical Canadian forwards on at their own game, according to Wales manager Alan Phillips.

The Welsh team to face the Cannucks in Sunday's World Cup encounter in Melbourne won't be formally announced until Friday.

But, as revealed in yesterday's Western Mail, there is expected to be a call-up for combative Aussie-born lock Brent Cockbain and power-scrummaging loosehead Duncan Jones.

Jones is set to join fellow big-tackling prop Gethin Jenkins and the teak-hard Robin McBryde in the front row, with Gareth Llewellyn winning his 80th cap alongside Test novice Cockbain in the boilerhouse.

Dafydd Jones, Martyn Williams and skipper Colin Charvis are to due to link up in the back row to complete a pack which Phillips believes is well-suited to the job that lies ahead at the Telstra Dome.

"The Canadians are always tough opponents," explained the former Wales hooker.

"They get in your face and spoil. We need some good discipline as a team to play against them and some good refereeing.

"They get stuck in up front, in fairness to them. But I think we have picked a pack of forwards to reciprocate that.

"The feeling I get is the boys are champing at the bit to play some rugby. They have done all this training now for eight or nine weeks and they can't wait to get started. We're all excited."

Phillips says Wales are determined to make a winning opening in Pool D and, with that in mind, will be looking to come out firing from the first whistle on Sunday.

"It's a vital to win your first game," he said.

"The Canadians keep coming at you with plenty of enthusiasm, so we need to start well.

"Ideally, whoever you are playing against, you would want to hit them in the first 20 or 30 minutes and put the game beyond doubt.

"The players are motivated to win. The results of the last 12 months haven't been great, but they've put all this hard work in and there's a reason for it - they want to go out and win."

Defence coach Clive Griffiths says the players have also set themselves the target of keeping the Canadians tryless - as they did in last November's 32-21 victory at the Millennium Stadium.

"It's a tough game to start, but we got a taste of what to expect from them in Cardiff last season," he said.

"They didn't cross our line then and we are intent that they are not going to cross it this time either. That is our goal.

"It's about everyone sharing the workload in defence and buying into the team patterns.

"It's a very physical group and we've got to match that physicality and better it to progress."

Gareth Cooper and Ceri Sweeney have both shaken off minor niggles and are expected to start at half-back on Sunday.